Here’s an interesting chart. Still wondering why bookstores are closing?? By my research the fastest growing market will be Europe. The US has been on a roll in regards to adoption of e-Readers. Growth will continue, but at a less robust rate. This, in my humble opinion, bodes well for those that create quality content for e-Readers. People love their books and enjoy good stories.
Consumers have spoken with a voice that is loud and clear – e-Readers are a better delivery device for books. Not surprisingly, the projected growth of eBooks sales correlates rather closely to the growth in
e-Readers (see bottom paragraph). ** Please note that this is a VERY VERY unscientific assessment from a true newbie to the industry. Take all comments with a grain of salt and a tequila shot, followed by a lemon wedge.
re-posted from http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/02/09/e-reader-sales-to-reach-8-2b-by-2014/
What’s that? You thought the Internet generation was only interested in tweets and YouTube videos? As it turns out we still read books, but we’ll be increasingly turning to e-books moving forward. In fact, a forecast is calling for some huge growth in the e-book market.
As it stands, global e-book reader sales were recorded at about $1.9 billion last year with a total of just under 11 million units sold. According to Yankee Group, those numbers will increase to $8.2 billion and nearly 72 million units, respectively, by 2014. That’s a lot of growth.
The forecast also calls for a worldwide doubling of the installed base of e-readers each year (up to 127 million by 2014), even faster adoption by the European market (143% growth each year, compared to 19% growth in smartphones), and reductions in the average e-reader price. Right now, the average e-reader is $182. They’re expecting that to drop to $114 by 2014.
Considering that you can already pick up something like the Kobo Reader for $100, you realize how far we’ve come from the initial $300+ price tags of the first Kindles. That said, tablets like the iPad weren’t supposed to replace e-readers… but they have been for many people. Is that the real wave of the future or will e-paper and e-ink still have teeth? I don’t read a lot of books, but I am getting more and more tempted to get one of these things.
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Below re-posted from http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/01/total-mobile-ebook-sales-forecast-to-reach-10b-by-2016-now-close-to-1-million-books-in-kindle-store/
Conveniently, Juniper Research this morning released a new report on mobile eBook sales, which it forecasts to reach close to $10 billion ($9.7b) by 2016, up from $3.2 billion this year.
The research firm says the expected jump in eBook sales for portable devices can be attributed to the growing number of dedicated eReader devices on the market, an upsurge in usage across smartphones and tablet computers and the rise of brand bookstore apps like Apple’s iBookstore and, of course, Amazon’s Kindle Store.
Andy Holloman - Dad, Writer, Goofball 
A lot of people ask me when my books are going to be released in print. Well I say there’s no sense in going backward. Print books are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. And that’s not just my author showing. To be perfectly honest, since I’ve had my ereader (Epaper technology – the only way to go!), I’ve read much more than I ever did before. It’s just so handy. I keep it in my purse or on my nightstand. A few chapters here and there, and then WHAMO! I’ve read yet another book. I love it. Some people will always fight change, but overall, ereaders are becoming more and more well-received. It’s only up from here, I believe. Great post, Andy.
hugs
I believe you are right about the growing European market. Visiting Germany in March, I was surprised by the presence of many small book stores. I asked my cousin about them and she nodded woefully, they are struggling. They are behind the US in their demise but the trend continues. (Not a happy trend, but reality.) Also, the fact that nearly all of the women in my book group now own readers is interesting. These women are all over 50….some in their 70’s and 80’s.
I believe digital books are taking the world the way digital cameras have. No one believed it possible that even professional photogs would digitize but it happened it less than 10 years. Like with vinyl recordings, film photography will always exist, but in small, esoteric circles. I think the same goes for books. Darn…I love the smell of a new book….even an old book.
cool info about germany, thx for that!!!!